The publication coincides with the launch of a new Business Against TTIP platform in Britain, fronted by Entrepreneur of the Year Titus Sharpe. Thousands of firms have already signed up to parallel anti-TTIP websites in Germany, Austria and the Netherlands.

TTIP will grant US corporations greater access to the markets of Europe without having to comply with the same level of social and environmental regulation as in the EU, according to the report.

Official predictions calculate that this unfair competition will result in the loss of at least 680,000 jobs across Europe.

Mark Dearn, War on Want trade campaigner and co-author of the report, said: "TTIP offers small businesses nothing, but thousands could fold if US firms are allowed into our markets without having to abide by EU rules. TTIP is a bonanza for big business, but a nightmare for everyone else. The UK government needs to come clean about the damage that TTIP will do to ordinary people struggling to make a living."

Only a tiny minority (0.5%) of UK small businesses are involved in the export of goods to the US market, according to official figures, while most are more concerned with protecting their home markets.

Rough Trade: The threat of TTIP to small businesses in the UK

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War on Want in The Times.A recent report by nine charities including RIAO-RDC, a Congolese NGO, and the western charities Grain and War on Want, levels a string of criticisms against Feronia, including allegations of land grabs, low pay and exploitation, writes Billy Kenber.

The government has serious case to answer when UK taxpayers’ money ends up in the coffers of a palm oil company linked to land grabs and labour violations in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The lack of oversight and due diligence is shocking, particularly when DFID is seeking to siphon off more of the public’s money to its private equity arm, CDC Group.